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Alternative Flours: Not Just for Gluten-Free Diets

In recent years, the
gluten-free (GF) diet–
which began as the only effective treatment for celiac disease– has gained mainstream popularity. According to a recent Mayo Clinic study,
more than a million relatively healthy Americans have adopted
gluten-free diets as a lifestyle choice rather than a medical necessity, despite
GF’s harsh restrictions on foods made with wheat, rye, and barley (a constraint that
includes pastas, beer, and practically every kind of baked good).

But in a
wacky bit of arithmetic, subtracting one variable – wheat flour – can actually result
in the addition of more options for interesting ingredients and dishes. Thanks
to the demand for gluten-free ingredients, curious bakers of every stripe can
now find a variety of flours made from tubers, seeds, and nuts to add different
flavors and textures to wheat-flour-based recipes or to replace wheat flour
altogether. And even if you’re not
gluten-free, these alternative flours are a great way to learn new recipes
or a different way of making cakes, pastries, and breads, such as steamed rice
cakes from the Philippines or savory Niçoise crèpes baked in a skillet.

Non-gluten flours used in
global cuisines can now be found in local ethnic groceries and food co-ops.
However, replacing wheat flour with these alternatives is not a simple
one-on-one switch, especially for baking, as gluten provides the structure and texture that we look for in baked goods: a chewy loaf of
bread, a tender cake crumb, or a flaky pie crust. It’s also important to
remember that gluten-free flours are not as effective on their own. For best
results, you’ll have to mix several non-wheat flours together with additional
starches for a full gluten-free flour substitute; replace only some of the wheat flour in your
favorite recipes; or use a non-gluten flour in a traditional recipe from
another cuisine.

Almond Meal and Rice Flour

Around the World in Four
Flours

To get you started, here are
four non-gluten flours commonly used around the world:

Cassava flour is a staple in Central and South American cuisines,
where it is often made into bread.Brazil, in particular, makes great use of it in delicious, chewy cheese
rolls called pão
de queijo and in farofa,
toasted cassava flour served as a side dish. In West Africa, a similar cassava
flour called garri
is also used to make a polenta-like side dish.

Look
for: manioc, mandioca, yuca, polvilho, or tapioca in Hispanic stores and fufu flour in African markets (although this may be mixed
with potato and plantain flours).

Chickpea flour is an essential ingredient in Middle Eastern and
South Asian cookery, and is used to make pakoras
(deep fried vegetable fritters) and unleavened flatbreads called roti. In Italy and France, farinata and socca,
respectively, are made by mixing chickpea flour with olive oil (and other
ingredients), then baked in a skillet. Chickpea flour can be also be used in
place of wheat flour in baked goods like cookies, with some adaptations.

Nut meals are finely ground from a variety of whole nuts, most
commonly almond, hazelnut, and walnut. They are best used in conjunction with
other gluten-free flours in baked goods. However, nut meals step up to the
plate on their own in Central European classic
flourless tortes.

Also
known asnut flours, although this term
generally refers to what is leftover after oil has been extracted from the
nuts. Nut meals can be found in most groceries, health stores, and specialty
markets, including your local food co-op, and are also easy to make
at home.

Rice flour is made from finely ground white, brown, or sweet
rice (also known as glutinous rice in reference to its sticky quality, not
gluten content), and is used extensively in South and Southeast Asia to make
noodles, roti, and sweets such as
Japanese mochi and
Filipino puto (steamed
rice cake) and palitaw(boiled rice cake).For baking, rice flour is considered the closest to
acting like wheat flour, with one notable exception: It is a poor binder. If
you wish to use rice flour for a gluten-free recipe, mix
it with nut meals to add needed moisture and protein.

Look
for: mochiko or malagkit, as sweet rice flour is known respectively in Japanese and Filipino, at
most Asian groceries. White and brown rice flours can be found in specialty
food and health stores and your local food co-op.

Sweet Rice and Almond Tea
Cakes

These gluten-free treats
have a subtle citrus flavor and delicately moist texture that can easily be too
dense and heavy if baked in a large pan. For best results, use mini-muffin or
madeleine tins.

2. Whisk rice flour, almond
meal, baking powder and salt until well combined and set aside. 3. Cream butter
and sugar until fluffy then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Add cream cheese, juice and milk, and mix until combined. Add rice flour
mixture and beat until batter is smooth.

4. Spoon batter into the pan
and bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until edges of the cake are golden brown and
the sides pull away from the pan.

5. Let cool before serving
and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Tracey Paska lives,
eats and writes in Manila, Philippines, where she revels in the fact
that she can wear flip-flops outdoors in January. When she's not
exploring Manila's foodscape, she freelances for a national food
magazine and writes about the complex and fascinating connections
between food, culture, and society on her blog Tangled Noodle. Follow her at @TangledNoodle. Her last article for us was Globally Aware: Shopping Outside the Big Box in the Philippines.